The present invention is directed generally to a rod pump stuffing box and more specifically discloses a stuffing box and its associated control system, with means for increasing the pack-off pressure in the stuffing box upon the leakage of well fluids reaching a predetermined level.
Most conventional polished rod sealing devices are the type whereby the means for maintaining the packing seals in sealing engagement with the polished rod consists solely of manual adjusting devices. These stuffing boxes must be closely monitored by the well operator to prevent a loss of well fluids and contamination of the surrounding environment.
This invention solves the problems of the prior devices by providing an automatic system for detecting leaking stuffing box seals and for adjusting the packing in response to a predetermined amount of leakage. Further leakage after the packing adjustment has been accomplished will shut the pump down, and continued leakage after pump shutdown activates a total pack-off of the stuffing box on the polished rod.